Dáin II Ironfoot
Dáin II Ironfoot (or simply King Dáin) was the son of Náin and the grandson of Grór, the youngest son of Dáin I of Durin's Folk, and was lord of the Dwarves of the Iron Hills in Wilderland. He was a Dwarven King of Durin's Folk, the fifth King under the Mountain, and the Lord of the Iron Hills during the War of the Ring in Middle-earth in the late Third Age. Biography War of the Dwarves and Orcs Dáin followed his grandfather, Grór, in lordship after Nain was killed by the great Orc chieftain Azog during the Battle of Azanulbizar, the final conflict in the War of the Dwarves and Orcs, before he could inherit the lordship. Almost immediately after the death of Náin, Dáin rushed up the steps and slew Azog himself, thus avenging his father's death. He was a very young Dwarf at the time, being only thirty-two years of age: by the Dwarves reckoning, he was still a stripling. Dáin's feat was heralded as a magnificent and glorious triumph for one so young. Dáin alone looked past the gate into Moria, and had the wisdom to know that it was impossible for the dwarves to return at that time. His kingdom at the Iron Hills was so great that they were the only people truly capable of dealing with Sauron's forces at that time. The Battle of Five Armies Dáin was the friend and cousin of Thorin Oakenshield, and responded to Thorin's call for help during the quest to reclaim the Lonely Mountain.The Hobbit, Chapter XV: "The Gathering of the Clouds" Dáin marched with five hundred Dwarven soldiers, exceptionally strong even by Dwarven standards, clad in heavy chainmail and iron boots, and armed with mattocks, shields, and swords. He arrived just in time for the Battle of Five Armies.The Hobbit, Chapter XVII: "The Clouds Burst" After the battle, Dain thanked the Eagles for their timely intervention, crowning their chief with gold and swearing the dwarves to everlasting friendship with them. He also honored Thorin's commitments to Bard the Bowman and Bilbo Baggins, giving a fourteenth share of the Mountain's treasure to the people of Lake-town, and promising an even greater share to Bilbo, who politely declined to take more than two small chests, filled with silver and gold. Dain also granted the emeralds of Girion to King Thranduil, who prized them greatly.The Hobbit, Chapter XVIII: "The Return Journey" The War of the Ring After Thorin's death, Dáin became King under the Mountain and King of Durin's folk, the first not to be in a direct line. Dáin was a wise and just leader, and brought much wealth to the mountain realm and was on good terms with the Men of Dale in the south and the Elven king of Northern Mirkwood as well, which ensured peace for many years to come. When Balin and other dwarves decided to reclaim Moria, Dáin initially refused, but Balin insisted on going.The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, Book Two, Chapter II: "The Council of Elrond" A few months before the Council of Elrond, a messenger from Mordor appeared at the entrance of the Lonely Mountain and offered the Dwarves an alliance with Sauron, asking only in return that the Dwarves share what they knew "concerning Hobbits", and help to track down the One Ring, which the messenger described as "least of rings... a trifle that Sauron fancies." The messenger said that, if the Dwarves could deliver the Ring itself, then Sauron would return three of the Rings of Power that originally belonged to the Dwarf-Lords, and Moria would be theirs to possess forever. On the other hand, the messenger warned that "things will not seem so well" if the Dwarves did not help. Suspicious and apparently recognizing old enemies such as Orcs, Dain refused to be bribed or blackmailed, and sent the messenger away without an answer by claiming that he needed time to think over the proposal. He instead sent Glóin to Rivendell to consult with Elrond, while Dáin prepared the Lonely Mountain for war. Death Dáin participated in the War of the Ring's northern campaign but was killed during the Battle of Dale in TA 3019, defending the body of King Brand of Dale before the gates of the Lonely Mountain. He was, by then, an extremely old Dwarf, at the age of two-hundred and fifty-two, but still strong for his age. He was still among the greatest of the Dwarven warriors, a direct descendant of Durin and his prowess in battle was nearly unmatched. After news of his death reached Minas Tirith, Gandalf remarked that, as saddened as they must be at Dáin's death, they should be glad that he died in battle, defending his friend's body, as well as amazed that he was still as formidable a warrior as he had been when he was a young dwarf: :"I should call that a heavy loss, if it was not a wonder rather that in his great age he could still wield his axe as mightily as they say he did, standing over the body of King Brand before the gate of Erebor, until the darkness fell." After his death during the war, his son, Thorin III Stonehelm, succeeded him. Appearances In the books * The Hobbit (First appearance) * The Fellowship of the Ring (Mentioned only) * The Return of the King (Mentioned only) * Unfinished Tales In the films * The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Mentioned only) * The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies '' Portrayal in adaptations Rankin/Bass In the animated film ''The Hobbit, Dain is referenced by Thorin as the leader of the dwarf reinforcements arriving at Erebor from the Iron Hills, but is not seen in the film. The Hobbit film trilogy In the third volume of Peter Jackson's [[The Hobbit (films)|''Hobbit trilogy]], Dáin is portrayed by Scottish actor and comedian Billy Connolly. The character's history undergoes some drastic alteration, as the battle between him and Azog is instead combined with the account of how Thorin gained his surname, and results in Azog losing an arm below the elbow rather than perishing. While the Lonely Mountain is under siege by a combined force of Mirkwood Elves and Men from the recently-destroyed Lake-town, Dain arrives at the head of an army of dwarves from the Iron Hills. Initially bent on attacking the elves, he wheels half of his army to fight against Azog's army when it appears on the field. The Dwarves quickly formed a phalanx, in which fight he is reluctantly joined by the elves. As the Orcs force the tired Dwarves back towards the gate of Erebor, Thorin and his company charge out, prompting Dain to call for the Dwarves to rally to their King. The two cousins exchange hearty greetings on the battlefield, though Dain is not seen for the rest of the film. In battle, he rides a wild boar and wields a war hammer. After he is thrown off of his boar and loses his helmet, he is shown to have bright red hair, worn in a Mohawk (similar to Dwalin's at the time of the Battle of Azanulbizar). In the extended edition for ''The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies his role is slightly expanded, with his army briefly engaging the Elves until the arrival of the Orcs. Unlike the book, Dain's army contained more than just heavily-armed infantry. In addition to having more than five hundred heavy infantry armed with spears, swords, axes, and shields, Dain's army contained a force of two hundred fifty Dwarves mounted on armored goats, five war chariots manned by four dwarves each and pulled by teams of six rams, and nine heavy ballistae manned by crews of five dwarves that fired javelins with spinning tails behind them (called "twirly-whirlies" by Dain). After the battle, he is crowned King under the Mountain. Although the extended edition of the third film does not reveal what happened afterwards, it is possible that he made good the promise his cousin Thorin made to the people of Esgaroth by giving them the gold that was owed to them. He may also have restored to Thranduil the necklace of white gems that Thror allegedly stole from the Elven-king years ago. Voice dubbing actors Video games * Dáin appears in the real time strategy game The Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle-Earth II, fighting on the Dwarven faction as King Dáin. His great axe in the game is Barazanthual, which was one of the finest weapons ever made by Dwarfdom and was rightly feared by all his enemies. Gallery Translations around the world References Category:Dwarves Category:Lords of the Iron Hills Category:Kings of Durin's Folk Category:Kings of the Lonely Mountain Category:The Hobbit Characters Category:Minor characters (The Lord of the Rings) Category:The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies Characters Category:Deaths in Battle de:Dáin II. es:Dáin II fr:Dáin II it:Dáin II Piediferro nl:Dáin II IJzervoet pl:Dáin II Żelazna Stopa pt-br:Dain Pé de Ferro ru:Даин II Железностоп zh:丹恩二世·鐵足